Vpapanik shared a tutorial on how to make your own SMD pick and place machine: If you are dealing with tiny SMD parts (e.g. 0402 resistors and capacitors), a manual pick and place machine is a helpful piece of equipment for prototyping and small-batch manufacturing. On the other side, traditional SMD placement using precision tweezers not […]
Category Archives: DIY
ESR meter rebuilt
MickM shares how he rebuilt his ESR meter: I just rebuilt my ESR meter. I found the schematic on the web, see ORIGINAL-schematic.png for author. This works well and is easy and almost free to build. It is analog (which I prefer), and uses a 50uA meter. Via the forum.
Use any pocket recorder as an EMG
Eric posted an update to his Simple DIY EMG we covered previously: Using a cheap opamp to make a buffer, you can use any WAV-capable pocket recorder to make an electromyogram. You don’t need the expensive one I originally specified. Via the contact form.
Water LED Art: Making LEDs light up with water
Christopher Woodall from HappyRobotLabs shared this Water LED Art: Making LEDs Light Up With Water: I wrote up a little explanation because the BUILDS hackerspace at BU wants to recreate the wall for an exhibit and maybe make a water based input system. Mostly we just found it cool an inspiring. Via the contact form.
Multiple serial devices in one terminal
John wrote informing us of a terminal program that can host multiple serial devices in a single prompt: Cool python terminal program that allows multiple devices to connect. Each device prints in a separate color so its easy to debug complicated setups like networks of many devices. Via the contact form.
Fine pitch BGA deadbug soldering
Xevel shows us how to solder fine pitch BGA dead-bug: After seeing a few posts about “deadbugging” (soldering wires to the leads or pads of a component instead of soldering it on its recommended footprint) of BGA chips on Dangerous Prototypes, some with “big” solder balls, and some with smaller ones, I thought I would […]
Dead-bugging a fine pitch BGA chip
Chris shared his experience dead-bugging BGA sized chips on our Who says BGA packages are hard to solder post. Here is my attempt at dead-bugging a finer pitch BGA, though thankfully with fewer pins. It works, but I wouldn’t trust it to keep working in a rough environment Via the comments.
Minimalist Arduino for $3
What’s the fewest components you need to have a functional Arduino? Wolf Paulus gets it down to just an Atmega168 chip, power connector and LED for good measure. He describes, “This is probably the most minimal ATmega168-20PU based Arduino you can come up with. The ATmega168 (available for about $3) was the default Arduino chip […]
DIY hand-wound resistors
Need higher power resistors, or heaters, as we like to call them? Build them yourself. Matseng hand-wound 6 meters of 38AWG wire to build 12 ohm resistors. He used a pencil and some kapton tape as the base for the resistor. I needed two power (just ~1 watt) 12 ohm resistors for a project and […]
555 based PWM generator free-form wire style
Another cool free-from wire circuit. Jeff designed this 555 based PWM generator in Eagle. He printed the trace layer and used it as a template for bending the wires. I built this 3D, freeform circuit as a test project. I’ve seen a few lately and love the way they look, and after making this circuit, […]
DIY De-panelizing PCB’s
Want to get more out of the cheap PCB services? This is just what Systemstech did when he ordered Bus Pirate LCD adapter v4 to be made. He was able to fit 3 boards on a single 10cmx10xm PCB. All that was left was for him to cut out the board with a scroll saw. […]
Hak8or’s scavenge of electronic parts from old computer hardware
Got an old computer collecting dust? Break out the hot air, and start scavenging for electronics gold. This is just what Hak8or did over the weekend. He took components form an old motherboard, and a SCSI PCI card. For a detailed component by component breakdown of his score check out his blog. I wanted to […]
Who says BGA packages are hard to solder
Here is proof that soldering BGA’s is not that hard. Check out this Mandelbrot zoom fractal engine with a PSP display project (machine translation). The FPGA in a ball grid array package is soldered dead bug style. Now that’s skill. Via the forum, and Hack a Day.
Organizing your surface mount component hoard
Keeping track of all the strips of surface mount components you’ve amassed can be a pain. Some people stick them in large compartmentalized boxes, others get the expensive metal storage drawers. Here is a simple and cheap DIY method to keep your SMD components organized. All you need is a soldering iron, a metal ruler, […]
A simple EMF probe
Always wanted to look at the electro-magnetic soup of signals sloshing around you. Tuomas made a device that let’s you watch these signals on your scope. It consists of an inductor that picks up the signals, and an amplifier that well amplifies them so you could watch them on your scope. Check out a video of Tuomas […]
Another toner transfer circuit board making guide
Sometimes prototyping your boards needs to be done quickly. Etching boards at home is the quickest way to knock up simple designs. There’s tons of ways to do it, one of the most popular is the toner transfer method. A circuit design is laser-printed on glossy paper, then transferred to a clean copper board with […]
Bluetooth controlled RGB LED strip
Hmms shared his Bluetooth controlled RGB LED strip project. Atmega8 microcontroller with the Arduino bootloader controls the LEDs, while the Bluetooth communication is handled via a cheap serial to Bluetooth module. I wanted the strip to be Controllable via a PC or a Mobile Phone.So I decided to make my own RGB LED strip Controller […]
Solar power supply
Dolabra put together this 5 volt solar power supply. The solar panel recharges a single alkaline battery which is then boosted to 5volts via an NCP1402 breakout board. Maximum output is 200 mA. I broke all the rules — I soldered directly to the battery and I’m recharging an alkaline. I’m surely going to be […]
Bearmos’s workshop and DIY tools
Forum regular Bearmos gave us a tour of his workshop and shows off several DIY tools. Check out the pictures below the fold. A thrown together workbench (in use for ~ 6 years now. originally built using an upturned recycling bin as a saw horse). I need to cut a hole in the back of […]
Soldering iron tip holder
Alex designed this soldering iron tip holder. It’s an aluminum bar bended into shape, with holes for the tips drilled into it. As basic as it is, it’s both functional, and good looking. After everything was said and done, it took about an hour to get it made and on my desk. Not bad for […]